A chicken harvester is a machine used in poultry farming to gather chickens (typically broilers) for slaughter. [1]
Since broilers are not kept in cages, some method is required to catch the chickens. The traditional hand method was to corral the birds, catch them, grab them by the feet, five per hand (typically), and then drop the animals into crates. [2] This is a backbreaking job, said to be "the worst in the poultry industry". [3] [4]
The chicken harvester machines, by contrast, use different systems to collect and deposit the chickens onto a conveyor belt which then moves and cage them into crates or containers, to transfer them to subsequent processing. [5] Chicken harvesters can harvest from 18 up to 26 tons of birds per hour (about 8000 birds per hour – average bird weight 2,5 kg).
Studies have demonstrated that the use of chicken harvesters may be less stressful to the birds compared to being hand-wrangled by humans. [6] The use of the machines has also been demonstrated to reduce injuries to chickens compared to those that occur from hand-wrangling, [7] especially in wings and legs. In addition, while the machine does not reduce the number of man hours required to process the animals, it is said to be easier on the workers. [8] A British study found that a mechanical catcher reduced some injuries by as much as 50%. [9] Other studies indicated more modest improvements of 9.5% [4]
Paul S. Berry of the British Silsoe Research Institute is credited with the development of the machine, starting in the 1980s. The British government provided $200,000 a year to design the machine, with hopes of reducing livestock suffering. [9] Earlier mechanical machines used a vacuum method. [4]
In 2003, about 5% of U.S. birds were caught mechanically. [9]
The Italian company CMC Industries (former Ciemmecalabria), is maybe the most famous manufacturer of this type of machinery with the Apollo chicken harvester range (few thousand machines sold around the globe since 1972). Its models do not use the rubber fingers to catch the chickens, as other manufactures do, but a system of conveyor belts which results in a gentle and smooth way to collect the birds. In addition, the Apollo harvester are capable of weighting the birds being loaded. The capacity of the machine can be up to 26 tons of birds per hour (10.000 birds per hour – average weight 2.6 kg).
Anglia Autoflow has developed a chicken harvester named the Easyload Harvester. [7]
The company Bright Coop had made for few years the E-Z Catch Chicken Harvester, capable of handling 5000 birds per hour. [3]
The Lewis/Mola Company had manufactured for some years the PH2000-model chicken harvester, said to be one of the more popular models in US, and able to clean 24,000 birds in 3 1/2 hours. [6] In 2003, a typical machine might cost around $200,000, and was described as 9 tons and 42 feet long. [9] Tyson Foods began using the PH2000 in 2001, but discontinued their use in 2009 due to high maintenance costs for the machines. In addition, labor costs in the poultry industry went down in the first decade of the 21st century, making manual processing relatively cheaper. [8]
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes.
Debeaking, beak trimming, or beak conditioning is the partial removal of the beak of poultry, especially layer hens and turkeys although it may also be performed on quail and ducks. Most commonly, the beak is shortened permanently, although regrowth can occur. The trimmed lower beak is somewhat longer than the upper beak.
Pastured poultry is a sustainable agriculture technique that calls for the raising of laying chickens, meat chickens (broilers), and/or turkeys on pasture, as opposed to indoor confinement. Humane treatment and the perceived health benefits of pastured poultry are causing an increase in demand for such products.
A broiler is any chicken that is bred and raised specifically for meat production. Most commercial broilers reach slaughter weight between four and seven weeks of age, although slower growing breeds reach slaughter weight at approximately 14 weeks of age. Typical broilers have white feathers and yellowish skin. Broiler or sometimes broiler-fryer is also used sometimes to refer specifically to younger chickens under 4.5 pounds, as compared with the larger roasters.
Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day. On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, thereby technically making this an enclosure, however, free range systems usually offer the opportunity for the extensive locomotion and sunlight that is otherwise prevented by indoor housing systems. Free range may apply to meat, eggs or dairy farming.
Chick culling or unwanted chick killing is the process of separating and disposing of unwanted (male) chicks, for which the intensive animal farming industry has no use. It occurs in all industrialised egg production whether free range, organic, or battery cage. Worldwide, around 7 billion male chicks are culled per year in the egg industry. Because male chickens do not lay eggs and only those on breeding programmes are required to fertilise eggs, they are considered redundant to the egg-laying industries and are usually killed shortly after being sexed, which occurs just days after they are conceived or after they hatch. Some methods of culling that do not involve anaesthetics include: cervical dislocation, asphyxiation by carbon dioxide and maceration using a high-speed grinder, while other methods include using a laser to cut a hole in the egg, removing a drop of fluid to be tested and providing the sex of the chicken. Asphyxiation is the only method in the United Kingdom, while maceration is the primary method in the United States. As of 2016, US producers expected by 2020 to be able to determine the sex of the developing chick long before hatching, so male eggs can be destroyed.
In animal husbandry, feed conversion ratio (FCR) or feed conversion rate is a ratio or rate measuring of the efficiency with which the bodies of livestock convert animal feed into the desired output. For dairy cows, for example, the output is milk, whereas in animals raised for meat the output is the flesh, that is, the body mass gained by the animal, represented either in the final mass of the animal or the mass of the dressed output. FCR is the mass of the input divided by the output. In some sectors, feed efficiency, which is the output divided by the input, is used. These concepts are also closely related to efficiency of conversion of ingested foods (ECI).
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world. Owing to the relative ease and low cost of raising them in comparison to animals such as cattle or hogs, chickens have become prevalent throughout the cuisine of cultures around the world, and their meat has been variously adapted to regional tastes.
In agriculture, poultry litter or broiler litter is a mixture of poultry excreta, spilled feed, feathers, and material used as bedding in poultry operations. This term is also used to refer to unused bedding materials. Poultry litter is used in confinement buildings used for raising broilers, turkeys and other birds. Common bedding materials include wood shavings, sawdust, peanut hulls, shredded sugar cane, straw, and other dry, absorbent, low-cost organic materials. Sand is also occasionally used as bedding. The bedding materials help absorb moisture, limiting the production of ammonia and harmful pathogens. The materials used for bedding can also have a significant impact on carcass quality and bird performance.
Battery cages are a housing system used for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens. The name arises from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected together, in a unit, as in an artillery battery. Although the term is usually applied to poultry farming, similar cage systems are used for other animals. Battery cages have generated controversy between advocates for animal welfare and industrial producers.
Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known by its opponents as factory farming, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production, while minimizing costs. To achieve this, agribusinesses keep livestock such as cattle, poultry, and fish at high stocking densities, at large scale, and using modern machinery, biotechnology, and global trade. The main products of this industry are meat, milk and eggs for human consumption. There are issues regarding whether intensive animal farming is sustainable or ethical.
Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which raises domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. It has originated from the agricultural era. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion chickens are killed for consumption annually. Chickens raised for eggs are known as layers, while chickens raised for meat are called broilers.
Pale, Soft, Exudative meat, or PSE meat, describes a carcass quality condition known to occur in pork, beef, and poultry. It is characterized by an abnormal color, consistency, and water holding capacity, making the meat dry and unattractive to consumers. The condition is believed to be caused by abnormal muscle metabolism following slaughter, due to an altered rate of glycolysis and a low pH within the muscle fibers. A mutation point in the ryanodine receptor gene (RYR1) in pork, associated to stress levels prior to slaughter are known to increase the incidence of PSE meat. Although the term "soft" may look positive, it refers to raw meat. When cooked, there is higher cook loss and the final product is hard, not juicy.
Poultry farming is a part of the United States's agricultural economy.
Dwarfism in chickens is an inherited condition found in chickens consisting of a significant delayed growth, resulting in adult individuals with a distinctive small size in comparison with normal specimens of the same breed or population.
Meat Atlas is an annual report, published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Friends of the Earth Europe, on the methods and impact of industrial animal agriculture and the meat industry. Consisting of 27 short essays by different authors, the report aims to inform consumers about the impact of meat consumption on global poverty, climate change, animal welfare, biodiversity, and the migration of workers.
The broiler industry is the process by which broiler chickens are reared and prepared for meat consumption. Worldwide, in 2005 production was 71,851,000 tonnes. From 1985 to 2005, the broiler industry grew by 158%.
Animal welfare and rights in Indonesia regards the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Indonesia. Indonesia has limited animal welfare regulations by international standards.
This article is about the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in Australia. Australia has moderate animal protections by international standards.
Antibiotics in poultry farming in America is the controversial prophylactic use of antibiotics in the country's poultry farming industry. This does not represent the position in other countries.
